Off-Topic General Discussion - Page 1901

The original music in Pokemon set a few standards such as the need for a repeated entry motif for major boss battles and the peppy first route theme. Arguably these aren't major revolutions. After all, the human ear likes repeated themes which is great for boss battle intros, the start of a journey is happy, caves are spooky, etc. The 8-bit tinny quality doesn't help it too much either. But as you play through the music is very good at setting tone which is pretty key for your little tyke who's exploring this whole new world. The real breakthrough for the Gen I themes comes when Fire Red and Leaf Green is released and the sound track is re-released in GBA audio (which is a major improvement). Take the Lavender Town theme for example. It's very simple and not too obtrusive yet it's still eerily haunting and helps set the theme of how the town is a graveyard town for Pokemon.

Alternatively, consider the upgrade of the Cerulean City theme in original RBY to the FR/LG remake. There's a lot more character in it and you can feel the bounce. But interestingly Kanto has had the privilege of two remakes and you can hear the theme again remastered for the DS consoles in HG/SS and even though the city itself is fairly spare there's this cool hip place down by coast.

This is probably better exemplified by the evolution of Celadon City. As you can see, Gen I sets the scene where this is a place of hustle and bustle. This is the shopping and gambling place to be in Kanto. FR/LG scales it back a bit and relaxes it but in the HG/SS remake you can feel a sort of carnival influence in the music. It's the sort of stuff you could imagine listening to while walking into a fairground or in a parade.

The music also applies to the general adventuring music. Route 3/4 is a great place to start. But that pales in comparison to the official orchestral arrangement that was used in the anime. At this point, the HG/SS version just doesn't seem that great anymore huh?

But wait, there's more!

Kanto has the distinct honour of having its music remixed not once (original RBY), twice, (GSC), thrice (FR/LG), frice (HG/SS) but fivth!! (Ok are those even words?) Yes, that's right, the old RBY themes have been remixed in nearly every single generation. In particular, the Kanto Champion Battle Theme was remixed in BW2 for the Pokemon World Tournament. (Which by the way was a really fun end-game component of Gen V but I digress.) You could argue that Kanto music has been remixed six times if you include this really good one from Pokemon: The Origins OVA but if we go into everything this will take forever. Suffice to say while some of the best themes (imo) weren't from Generation I there's still character to be found in them and still bring back memories.

Generation II has a special place in many people's hearts not least because of the fact it's the game that lets you explore two regions (Kanto and Johto) or the fact its remake let you have any of your Pokemon walk around with you (Gamefreak pls) or that it's the first that allowed you to be a boy or a girl (Lyra's a poser). But I'd argue that the music is a really key factor. In the interest of saving you a massive wall of text even longer than that of Generation I, I'll predominantly focus on the music from HG/SS (the remake) rather than the original GSC versions.

Johto has a lot of themes that tug at your heart which is fitting since the setting of Johto is a more rustic, traditional land. (Just look at the architecture!) Azalea Town is perhaps one of my favourite themes out of all of Pokemon. The trend of the more laid back style continues with Ecruteak City (very fitting as a lot of the Johto lore is in this town), and National Park (can you just imagine walking through a park with this as your theme?). It's hard to really explain this with only YouTube links, however these pieces have a lot of soul to them and they are very good at setting that scene for you . You see those watercolour images in the National Park video? Those are the eyecatch title fade-in screens when you visit during different times of the day.

Some of the music was so good that the devs didn't even wait until HG/SS to remix it. Olivine City was reused for FR/LG in Sevii Islands 6 and 7. And honestly, it's a good choice because it has that laid back vibe to it. Even the adventuring music gets in on the action. Check out the theme from Route 46/47.

Generation II music isn't all one dimensional though. Take Route 29 for example. This is your starting route music. Isn't it really peppy and playful? Something that I want to highlight is how its repetition of the central theme is very call-and-answer like. The iteration at 0:51 and 1:42 are like birds calling out to you. The heavier themes at 1:03 and 1:54 are like the ground Pokemon answering back and so on. It's quite a fun little ditty.

There's also Rocket Tower Takeover!. The style is a complete break from what you've been hearing so far and helps emphasize how jarring Rocket's comeback is.

I could go on but I shall stop here. I've already covered the HG/SS remixes of Generation I (somewhat earlier) as well so it seems a fitting time to move onto...

Generation III was a major departure for Pokemon not least because it was set in a completely new land (HOENN) but it brought with it its own charm that's really endearing.

As for the music, if I had to sum it up in one word: Trumpets.

Ok now that I have that joke out of the way, let's look closer at the actual music properly. The most important thing about the music in Gen III is that it's cohesive as a whole. Gen II had taken a strong step forward in crafting a musical identity over the entire game over the Gen I approach of a bunch of good tunes. But it wasn't until Gen III where Gamefreak really started tying it all together properly. Gen III aimed to be bold and a lot of this was accomplished with trumpet sounds on the GBA.

Take Route 104 and Route 110. These are strong powerful themes led by the brass that put their foot down and say "I'm on an adventure"! Where Gen II was written in shades of rustic auburn as the sun sets and autumn leaves fall along the warm evening breeze, Gen III strike it out in bright primary colours. It's got gravitas, and it carries with confidence. While much of the city music is not trumpet driven, it is still vibrant. The Rustboro city theme is used in several cities (including Mauville and Mossdeep). It's simple, straightforward and has the personality of a guy who comes in and says "Who's awesome? You're awesome. Keep it up."

Gen III also adapts its music as you move along without losing that vibrancy. Dewford Town is supposed to be a lazy laid back island in the middle of the ocean but it doesn't try to tug at your heart the way Gen II does. Or take Lilycove City which is akin to the old Olivine City. The saddest song is probably Abandoned Ship but then again it fits the context well.

Ok but enough about cities. Back to trumpets. The battle themes are all about trumpets and back to being bold. Team Magma/Aqua Theme. Battle Frontier Brain Battle. Gym Leader Battle. And of course, the Champion Theme Remix for PWT in BW2 (but no trumpets booo).

But even if I throw all of these links are you, it doesn't full encapsulate what made Gen III special. What made it special was that each piece of music linked in with the next and matched the progression of the game. It brought that 2D adventure alive in a way the previous games hadn't. Rather than individual themes having their own personality, the entire arrangement as a whole was the hidden character in the adventure.

Mt Pyre gets a special mention for this because it's a great theme foe when you're holding down that B-button trying to sprint to the top of the mountain as fast as possible trying to stop Team Aqua/Magma from their dastardly plans. This time I've linked to a remix because the audio is a lot crisper which does wonders for the song. For those of you who like Smooth McGroove's stuff, here's his version. Isn't this theme great? There's that sense of urgency and your run steps follow the beat of the music. It's like this song was made for you to hold that B-button yelling "NO STEP AWAY FROM THE RED ORB ARCHIE STEP AWAY FROM THE RED ORB!" The Team Aqua/Magma battle themes were also edgier than the older Team Rocket theme.

The Gen III music hasn't been remixed apart from the Champion theme for PWT BW2 and it's going to be really interesting how OR/AS turn out.

Generation IV was a bit of a let down for me. DPP as a whole was fairly trite and unmemorable. The music was decent. The biggest change was that day/night cycles now had different music themes. For example Jubilife City (Daytime) and Jubilife City (Night). Solaceon City is also a good theme.

Ok that was a slight lie. Route 201 is the original version for Route 29 in HG/SS and good. Route 216 is a nice theme that starts out slow and mellow that suddenly picks up with a nice funk. But unfortunately a lot of DPP is just a blur of "meh" from me and that unfortunately tinges into my opinion of the music.

The best them from Generation IV is without a doubt Battle! Champion Cynthia however. Obligatory PWT BW2 remix. Also Cynthia is the best Champion out of all the games too.

Side fact, one of Pokemon Showdown's main themes is the DPP Rival Theme. So there's that going for Generation IV.

Generation V was a big pick up from where Generation IV had left off and once again it moved towards the unified and progressive nature that was seen in Generation III. Gosh, where to begin? The glitz and glamour of Nimbasa CIty? The quiet town of Floccesy or the wheeling around at Floccesy Ranch? The clay hurts in Lentimas Town? The mining city of Driftveil? Wandering the Dreamyard? Unova comes alive as a diverse and rich environment and the music ties it all together.

The evolving music from Gen IV was brought back but it now changes with Seasons. It's not a major component, but it is nice to pick up how places like Route 4 change from Winter to Spring to Summer and Autumn.

The game even evolves across the sequel as the battle against what are essentially quasi-religious fantasists becomes one against a much more militant rouge army and mirrors the change in uniform design too from robes to flak jackets and half-face masks.

The boss battle themes are also gorgeous. You cannot listen to Colress' Theme and not hear the science vibes just radiating at you. But it's not threatening and menacing like other boss battle themes. It's purely a matter of academia and you're just the one being asked questions. Compare this with Ghetsis' Battle Theme in BW. The story doesn't even involve fighting the Elite 4 and the Champion. The entire Elite 4 building gets wrecked and here you are now face to face with the ultimate villian behind it all. There's only you and him. The lack of any melody just emphasises how it's all come down to this and how you're here to set the story right again. By defeating him you bring back the music and bring back the world to normality. Contrast this against his Battle Theme from BW2. The music is deranged and all over the place and so is this dude.

Or what about N's Castle? The giant building that's crashed onto the Elite 4 and turned the whole world upside down as Team Plasma ascend and take over Unova? N's Castle lets you know you walk in hallowed halls but you really don't belong here. Neither does the castle.

The biggest emphasis comes from N himself. Every time you talk with him this theme plays. But once you learn the truth to him and visit his childhood... You realise just how broken inside he is. It's creepy as hell. And it should be. Pokemon BW is a pretty dark game all things considered.

Obligatory Gym Leader Theme because whether you're fighting on a catwalk strutting your stuff or in a school yard you got to play the part.

As previously alluded to BW2 also brought with it remixes of the Gym and Champion Themes from all the previous Gens for the PWT and these are pretty good. But the real star is actually an original song called Emotion. This is used once in the main game, and that is when your friend Bianca is being forced to give up her Pokemon journey by her father because it's too dangerous. It pulls at you.

In BW2 Emotions is also used in Memory Link where you learn the back story to what's happened since BW. Why did the Striaton Gym Leaders give up their gym? Where did the protagonist from BW disappear to without a trace?

Also of note is that across Unova are several musicians and when you're near them they add extra backing tracks to the background music. In Accumula Town you do need to show them some Pokemon that make music to get their inspiration going but layering is gorgeous.

BW and BW2 are up there when it comes to music. It oozes character everywhere and it is without a doubt a core component of what makes the game so good.

And now to the modern day with Generation VI. Gen VI has the honour of being the first release on the 3DS and the sound is lovely. Just listen to Route 1. Pokemon XY doesn't shy away from making a statement. You get to cruise through the autumnal Route 15, meander the glitzy Parfum Palce (harpsicord!), sneak through the Power Plant and Pokeball Factory flushing out Team Flare and explore Fairy Land.

The biggest problem with XY msuic is really that the core game lets it down. The pacing and story issues are a discussion for another day, but because the core gameplay is weak it means the music becomes less memorable because there's less material you can attach to the musical experience and it's a let down because there are some good themes that get let down by that.

Some tunes that will be will stick around are probably ones like this, thisp, this and this. (If you've played XY you know exactly what they are lol.) And it's a but of a pity because there are some other good themes which I think should have been the ones that stuck with you.

Then again Gen VI is where we'll see the Gen III music redone. Hype hype hype!